As for what Hōichi could possibly do once he set aside his anti–Tailed Beast technique, it was Gaara's turn to talk him around again.
And talk he did.
A long stream of encouragement followed.
Giving up that one specialty did not mean Hōichi had nothing left.
At worst, he would simply be starting over from zero and learning something new from the beginning.
He was the disciple of Bunpuku, a monk who had spent his life enduring hardship and cultivating himself.
Was Hōichi really saying he could not even handle something as simple as starting again?
In short, Gaara showered him with praise and gave him all the emotional reassurance he needed.
Hōichi was deeply moved and finally agreed to accept Gaara's task of learning Sage Mode.
"You can continue training, but there's no need to treat it as a mission anymore. There's no rush. Kankurō and I have both mastered Sage Mode now, so we can serve as senjutsu instructors."
Gaara explained the situation.
The purpose of spreading senjutsu was never to cultivate one or two elite fighters.
The goal was to spread it as widely as possible until it became something like chakra itself—a new source of power available throughout the shinobi world.
The only reason they currently needed someone to learn quickly was that Naruto's group could not remain in one village forever.
They still needed to travel elsewhere, so each village required at least one instructor who could continue teaching after they left.
Hearing that only made Hōichi feel even guiltier.
Just as Uchiha Madara had said, Gaara truly had been thinking about everyone.
Meanwhile, among the people who had hurried over from the village, every last member of the anti-Gaara faction quietly gave up.
It was not because they had witnessed Gaara showing extraordinary mercy toward Hōichi.
Mercy meant jack shit!
If anything, that would only encourage people like them to push their luck even further.
No.
What they had witnessed was Uchiha Madara apparently being summoned over at Granny Chiyo's convenience, then casually flattening Hōichi even after he had obtained Shukaku's power.
Hōichi had gained Tailed Beast-level strength and still been defeated instantly.
For the overwhelming majority of shinobi, that was basically the same feeling Orochimaru had experienced in the original Fourth Shinobi World War after seeing what Kabuto had achieved.
If someone could go that far and still lose…
Then what the hell was the point of even trying?
More importantly, the person helping Gaara was Uchiha Madara.
If it had been Senju Hashirama instead, perhaps they could have clung to some hope.
They might have tried arguing that Hashirama had no right to interfere in another nation's internal affairs.
Or perhaps they could assassinate Gaara before Hashirama arrived.
Once Hashirama finally showed up and saw that the deed was already done, surely someone as famously kindhearted as him would compromise for the sake of the Land of Wind and allow the conspirators to survive and continue governing.
But when the person backing Gaara was Uchiha Madara?
There was nothing to work with.
You could not morally blackmail Madara.
If you told him not to interfere in another country's internal affairs, Madara would simply interfere in your continued existence.
Striking first would not help either.
They would definitely die afterward, and all they would accomplish was clearing the path for someone else to benefit.
Faced with a situation like that, every sensible person reached the same conclusion almost immediately.
Forget it.
Why pursue something guaranteed to fail with absolutely no positive return?
Were they masochists?
At the same time, Gaara finished persuading Hōichi, and Hōichi joined the second group of Sage Mode trainees.
The shinobi from Konoha and Sunagakure also gathered around to thank "Uchiha Madara" for stepping in.
Kakashi did not know who the man in front of him truly was.
But he was absolutely certain it was not Uchiha Madara.
Kakashi knew where Obito was being held, and he also knew Madara was imprisoned in the same place.
Besides, with Madara's personality, how could he suddenly undergo such a massive change?
Still…
The things this man had said earlier really did sound like something Madara might say if he had somehow turned over a new leaf.
Kakashi only refused to believe it because he knew too much.
He knew too many of the details and too much of what had happened behind the scenes.
To everyone else, who had no idea what Madara had supposedly experienced, they could easily fill in the blanks themselves and invent a perfectly reasonable explanation for his change.
And once Kakashi saw "Madara" using Wood Release, the obvious conclusion was that this had to be the First Hokage.
"Lord Madara, thank you for your assistance."
Kakashi chose not to expose him.
He had already realized that Madara's identity was actually far more useful for this situation.
The others now crowded around "Madara" and began asking questions.
Hashirama believed his mission was already complete, so he finally relaxed.
Aside from maintaining the bare minimum of Madara's persona and refraining from rubbing the back of his head while laughing loudly, he dropped most of his guard.
Which meant…
When the three resident gossipmongers who had come along to watch the show asked, "What do you think of the First Hokage? Have the two of you reconciled now?" Hashirama's mischievous side immediately took over.
"Hashirama? That man was the strongest shinobi in history."
"The so-called prodigies and great warriors of your current age are merely monkeys calling themselves kings because the mountain has no tiger."
"You are ordinary mortals fortunate enough to live in an era without us."
"Hashirama was handsome. His body was powerful and pure. His heart was broad and magnificent."
"Anyone who truly came to know him would inevitably reach the same conclusion I did—that he was a great shinobi who had transcended vulgar worldly interests."
"Understand this clearly: I am not praising Hashirama. He has no need for my praise."
"I am merely stating facts."
Using Madara's tone from earlier, Hashirama shamelessly praised himself without restraint.
It felt incredible!
The effortless arrogance, the overwhelming superiority, the perfect delivery—
He became so intoxicated with his own performance that he completely failed to notice the increasingly strange expressions around him.
Especially those of the three gossipmongers.
They had already heard rumors that Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama shared an improper relationship.
Supposedly, when Madara had once pursued Granny Chiyo, Hashirama followed behind the two of them like an abandoned lover, paying their bills and carrying their shopping bags.
Looking at things now…
There really was something going on between those two.
What kind of compliments were those?
"His body was powerful and pure"?
Why not just say he was sweet and juicy while you were at it?
They finally understood.
Uchiha Madara apparently swung both ways.
He practiced a one-husband, one-wife system.
He wanted both the First Hokage and Granny Chiyo.
…
Elsewhere, Shira had originally planned to say goodbye to Gaara and return to his isolated training.
However, after hearing the full explanation of Sage Mode and learning about the threat posed by the Ōtsutsuki clan, his thoughts changed.
"Lord Kakashi, I would like you to work with me and help redevelop the Seven Heavens Breathing Method!
"I want to turn this taijutsu training system into something that can be spread throughout the entire shinobi world, just like Sage Mode!"
Shira bowed deeply to Kakashi.
"What?"
Kakashi stared at him blankly.
Where the hell had that come from?
"Why? Why me? Naruto was the one who came up with the Sage Mode shortcut. If you want help developing something new, shouldn't you ask him?"
After recovering from his surprise, Kakashi asked in genuine confusion.
"That was merely coincidence!"
Shira shook his head firmly.
"Kakashi, you are Konoha's Copy Ninja, the man who has copied more than a thousand techniques and even developed original ninjutsu of your own.
"You are the only hope I have for making this idea a reality.
"And…"
Shira hesitated, then grabbed Kakashi's hand.
"And earlier, when you confronted Hōichi, the way you shouted, 'What do you think a human life is?!' was so powerful that even my breathing method trembled in response.
"I felt it."
"You are the one."
"You are hope."
Kakashi stared at him.
He understood absolutely none of what Shira was talking about.